"If roads were collapsing all across the United States, killing dozens of drivers, we would surely see that as a moment to talk about what we could do to keep roads from collapsing. If terrorists were detonating bombs in port after port, you can be sure Congress would be working to upgrade the nation's security measures. If a plague was ripping through communities, public-health officials would be working feverishly to contain it.

"Only with gun violence do we respond to repeated tragedies by saying that mourning is acceptable but discussing how to prevent more tragedies is not. But that's unacceptable. As others have observed, talking about how to stop mass shootings in the aftermath of a string of mass shootings isn't 'too soon.' It's much too late."

Maybe we should start with outlawing large capacity magazines/semiautomatic handguns?

Monkey see, monkey do...No Easy Answers on Media Violence's Effect on Kids March 6, 2013, Does exposing children to violence in TV shows, movies and video games increase their odds of violent behavior later on?

That question lies at the heart of the ongoing debate over gun control, mental health and the effect of violent media on our society. Mass shootings in Newtown, Conn., and elsewhere have brought renewed attention to the issue of who is responsible when a young adult with no history of violence chooses to open fire on innocent people.

Eager to deflect a storm of negative headlines, some gun rights advocates have pointed a finger at video games, movies and other sources of violent images. A similar debate took place after the 1999 Columbine shootings, but the current national conversation surrounding media violence follows a string of particularly violent shootings, climaxing in the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December. The level of outrage following that incident has provided fodder to those concerned about the long-term effects of violent media on children, particularly as video games become more realistic with advances in technology.

The gun lobby found a sympathetic ear in Sen. Joe Manchin III, D-W.Va., who was quick to blame video games such as Grand Theft Auto for glorifying violent crimes. He was joined by several other lawmakers, including Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. President Barack Obama in January called for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to invest $10 million in studying the effect of violent video games and movies, among other areas, highlighting the broad public concern over the issue. But proving a correlation between exposure to violent media images and actual violence is a difficult task at best, especially at a time when children are constantly exposed to violent images on the news and via the Internet. The American Academy of Pediatrics issued a policy statement on the issue in 2009, arguing that extensive research shows that exposure to media violence can result in aggressive behavior in children. In one study, 98 percent of the pediatricians surveyed believed violent images affect childrens aggression.

The entertainment and video game industries, however, emphasize other studies that find no connection between exposure to violent images and actual violence, and researchers have come to widely differing conclusions depending on their subjects and methodologies. Critics also note that violent crime in the United States has dropped significantly over the past 20 years, even as media exposure has risen exponentially. There has been an assertion made ... that our culture is more violent, that there is more violence in our daily lives. And that just simply is not true, said Simon Rosenberg, president of the Washington think tank NDN, which has accepted funding from the video game industry.

Mental Health Experts: Violent Entertainment is 'Poison' that is 'Polluting the Culture'March 7, 2013 - Violent entertainment is polluting the culture and is a poison to the minds of alienated individuals and would-be shooters, according to mental health experts at a post-Newtown forum held on Capitol Hill Tuesday.

Culture matters, forensic psychiatrist Michael Welner said, especially when it comes to understanding what is in the minds of mass shooters. The House-sponsored forum focused on the role of mental illness in mass shootings like the one last December at a school in Newtown, Conn., where 26 people died, including 20 children, who were killed by a lone gunman.

Welner said that popular culture matters to mental illness in the same way culture can influence physical well-being. We now have a national imperative against obesity because weve understood that eating habits have some impact on actual physical illness, he said.

But I will tell you, though, our fascination now -- indoctrination of a culture of young people with violence through entertainment media that are polluting the culture of this United States -- has to be dealt with the same way we dealt with the tobacco industry.

When you see the word "decline" you can't understand what that means until you know what the decline is measured against. Has it declined since 1950? No. It has declined since the 80s. The 80s marked the truly brutal gang wars between the Bloods and the Crips. It was the time that hisipanic gangs first started moving in and securing territory.

More people and more guns yet we're seeing a decline? That cant be right......

Click to expand...

First our population is aging which tends to reduce crime

Secondly we have 2 million in prison which probably reduced street crime somewhat

Third 55 million abortions in the 50 years or so has probably eliminated some of the problem, too (a derivative of the demographis issue, admittedly)

Click to expand...

I know when I was in my early twenties not to many young people had assault "style"weapons. Most of us had shotguns and rifles.
Today people in their early twenties are buying the shit out of em. There are way more of them around then in the past.

While I'm sure locking up offenders helps,there is a revolving door in our criminal justice system.

I'm thinking(demographically) there havent been enough abortions to effect crime in any appreciable way.

More people and more guns yet we're seeing a decline? That cant be right......

Click to expand...

First our population is aging which tends to reduce crime

Secondly we have 2 million in prison which probably reduced street crime somewhat

Third 55 million abortions in the 50 years or so has probably eliminated some of the problem, too (a derivative of the demographis issue, admittedly)

Click to expand...

The aging population is certainly part of it. Criminologists consider the age group 15-35 as the "at risk" years for high levels of criminal behavior, especially amongst males. If you look at violent crime and homicides from the 1950's to the present you will see a very strong correlation between the baby boom generation entering those "at risk" age and crime rates. Crime rates began to rise in the mid 60's and peaked in the early 90's.

The 2 million in prison would might have a minor impact, but I do not suspect it would be too much. What is interesting is that firearms in private hands has nearly doubled since the early 90's and gun laws have generally relaxed nationwide during that same time frame, but homicide rates have been cut in half. Correlation is certainly not equivalent to causation, but a negative correlation is evidence of a lack of causation.

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